2018 Viterra Men’s Curling Championship to be Played at Winkler’s

CurlManitoba has announced the 2018 Viterra Men’s Curling Championship will be played in Winkler’s Centennial Arena, January 31-February 4, 2018.

The timing of the event is two weeks earlier than usual as part of the Olympic year championship curling schedule.

The champion of Winkler’s Viterra Championship will earn the opportunity to compete as Team Manitoba at the Tim Hortons Brier in Regina, SK in March 2018.

Speaking for CurlManitoba, Executive Director Craig Baker said “this will be the first ever Manitoba Men’s Curling Championship played in Winkler. CurlManitoba is pleased to be able to bring the Viterra Championship to another ‘new’ community and to give the community’s dedicated curling fans a close-to-home opportunity to watch championship curling.”

“We are delighted to bring championship curling back to Winkler,” says Host Committee Chair Louis Tanguay. “The 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in our Centennial Arena had sell-out crowds and created a lot of excitement in our community, not just about the championship but about the sport of curling as well.”

Tanguay says the Winkler Curling Club’s initiative to host the Viterra Men’s, supported by the City of Winkler and local sponsors, is an important next step in event hosting for the community which was also a co-host community for the 2014 Manitoba Winter Games.

“Hosting the Viterra Championship will contribute in a very positive way to our community’s self-image and will have a significant economic impact as well,” Tanguay says. “In the end, however, it is really about the curling and the opportunity to watch great Manitoba curlers like Mike McEwen, Reid Carruthers, Matt Dunstone and Braden Calvert. Local curlers fans are very excited about the Viterra coming to Winkler.”

On behalf of Viterra, Corporate Affairs Director Jeff Cockwill said, “We’re pleased to be continuing our partnership with CurlManitoba, and supporting local curling talent in our communities.  Our company has a long history in Winkler, and we’re looking forward to the 2018 Viterra Championship being another great success that will benefit the community and provide a great entertainment experience for both curlers and fans.”

For Information: Craig Baker, Executive Director-CurlManitoba, cbaker@curlmanitoba.org; (204) 925-5725

ABOUT VITERRA: Viterra is Canada's grain industry leader, supported by the expertise of its people, a superior network of assets, and unrivalled connections to world markets. Headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan, our commitment to agriculture goes back nearly 100 years, partnering with farmers to market and move their crops to areas of need around the world. Our continued focus on operational excellence throughout North America allows us to efficiently handle, process, distribute and transport grains and oilseeds. We provide further value to our partners through a wide variety of contracting and risk management tools to help them realize the full potential of their crops. For more information on Viterra in North America, please visit www.viterra.com